Woman ‘didn’t see’ biker

A MOTORIST accused of killing a Pontefract grandfather after she collided with him near a motorway slip road will be sentenced this month.

Wendy Leung, 33, pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court on Monday to causing the death of motorcyclist Colin Milton by driving her BMW car carelessly at the junction of Pontefract Road and Knottingley Road on January 26 last year.

Leung, of Weeland Court, Knottingley, pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of dangerous driving on the Ferrybridge bypass shortly after the accident.

Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, said Leung failed to stop after the fatal collision and drove approximately one mile on the A1 with her car in a damaged state before stopping at Ferrybridge Services.

He added: “At that point Leung inspected the damage and turned around and came back to the accident site, at which point she made no secret of the fact that she had been the driver and involved in the collision, and was made aware of the death.

“The basis of the charge of dangerous driving is not the manner of her driving but the fact of her driving with her car in the condition that it was in.

“There was a crack in the windscreen and the bonnet had lifted several inches as a result of the impact with Colin Milton.”

Mr Sharp said Leung had no choice but to continue on the A1 after making a right hand turn at the junction and stopped at the first opportunity.

Matthew Paul, mitigating, said Leung had not realised the gravity of the collision and was only away from the scene for four minutes before returning.

He added: “This plainly is not a case of attempting to evade responsibility, she drove back immediately and identified herself as having being a party to the accident.

“Wendy Leung’s case is that whilst aware something had happened, she was not aware it was a full blown collision with a motorbike which she hadn’t seen, and didn’t realise until she stopped how serious the collision must have been.”

Mr Milton, 53, of Mill Dam Lane, was on his way to work at Ardagh Glass in Knottingley when he suffered fatal injuries in the crash.

Mr Paul said the accident was a “classic case” of “looking but not seeing” motorcyclists in the road.

He said: “Leung’s case is that she slowed at the junction and looked but didn’t see the motorbike approaching.

“This is not the same as approaching a junction and not looking, there’s no reason on earth why someone would approach a junction and not look.”

Adjourning the case for pre-sentence reports, Judge Sally Cahill QC told Leung she would be considering a custodial sentence.